20 Ways to Improve Your Competitive Swimming

In this article, we’ll look at 20 ways to improve your competitive swimming.

From goal setting to developing mental toughness, through to helping you to train at your optimum intensity.

There’s bound to be at least one thing listed here you could work on to help you achieve your swimming ambitions.

Set Swimming Goals

Goal setting is not just confined to swimming, it’s a life skill, which helps establish clear targets, priorities and expectations.

Setting swimming goals can lead to an improved performance, which can lead in turn to increased confidence and motivation.

We have produced a related article, on the benefits of setting swimming goals. Which you can view by clicking this link: Swimming goals.

Keep a Swimming Log

Keeping an up-to-date swimming log is a great way to record, monitor and evaluate your swimming development and progression towards your swimming goals.

We have produced a related article, on the benefits of having a swimming log. Which you can view by clicking this link: Swimming log.

Develop Mental Toughness

Competitive swimming can sometimes not just be physically tough, it can also be mentally tough.

Training can be physically demanding. Some swimmers moan and complain when the training gets tough.

Many of the world’s top swimmers regularly practice a range of psychological techniques, to help them develop their mental toughness.
This can help to give them a range of competitive advantages.
This includes being able to maintain focus, improving their motivation, reducing their stress levels and increase their self-belief.
Listed below are some of the technqiues used to help develop mental toughness for swimmers.

We have produced a related article, on developing mental toughness for swimmers. Which you can view by clicking this link: on developing mental toughness for swimmers

Warm-Up

Swimmers need to warm up before training and competition. This ensures that their muscles are warm to prevent injury and to ensure their heart is prepared to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.

During a competition, the warm-up facilities and opportunities may vary.
Therefore it’s important to the swimmer’s performance to develop warm-up protocols.
These can be tailored to the individual swimmer and adapted to most competitive situations.
These should consist of a dry land warm-up, a pool warm-up and a pre-race warm-up.

We have produced a related article, on competitive swimming warm-ups. Which you can view by clicking this link: Swimming warm-ups

Cool Down

Swimmers need to be able to recover from each training or competitive session, by dispersing their accumulated lactic acid.

The recovery process should start immediately after each training or competitive session, by way of a proper cool down.

During a competition, the cool-down facilities and opportunities may vary.
Therefore it’s therefore important to the swimmer’s performance, to develop cool-down protocols.
These can be tailored to the individual swimmer and adapted to most competitive situations, consisting of a post-competition/training swim-down and dry land cool-down.

We have produced a related article, on swimming cool-downs. Which you can view by clicking this link: swimming cool-downs

Talk to Your Coach

The main responsibility of a coach is to impart their knowledge and experience to the swimmer.

Therefore, it’s important that the swimmer establishes a rapport with their coach, where they feel confident in asking them for their assistance, support, and feedback.

We have produced a related article on the benefits of swimming coachability. Which you can view by clicking this link: swimming coachability.

We have produced a related article on swimming coach 20 things to make them happy. Which you can view by clicking this link swimming coach 20 things to make them happy.

Counting strokes

Stroke count is the number of strokes it takes for a swimmer to complete a given number of lengths/laps.

Stroke count is largely influenced by a swimmer’s technique.
The more technically efficient the swimmer, the longer their distance per stroke and therefore, the fewer strokes they will take to complete a length/lap.

We have produced related articles, on both how to use stroke count and stroke rate and stroke count and stroke rate drills. Which you can view by clicking these links: how to use stroke count and stroke rate | stroke count and stroke rate drills.

Keep Hydrated

A swimmer needs to be well hydrated to perform at their optimum.

Although most of a swimmer’s training is conducted in the water, they still lose a great deal of body fluid through physical exertion.
It’s important that this lost fluid is replaced, as dehydration is one of the most common causes of poor performance.

We have produced a related article, on swimming hydration. Which you can view by clicking this link: Swimming hydration

Eat the Right Food

A balanced diet will provide all the vitamins and minerals that a swimmer will need.

It is important to refuel properly during training and competition. This will help both your performance and reduce your recovery times.
An ideal swimming diet is around 60% carbohydrate, that’s bread, pasta, cereal, rice, fruit and vegetables, with about 15 % of protein and the remaining 25% from healthy fats.

We have produced a related article, on swimming nutrition. Which you can view by clicking this link: Swimming nutrition

Relax and Recover

Swimmers need to actively recover from the exertions of training and competition to ensure the swimmer is not overly fatigued to continue swimming at the optimum level.

The ability to be able to relax is a great way to develop as a competitive swimmer.
Relaxation skills can help a swimmer reduce self-doubt and anxieties while increasing concentration and performance.
Relaxation techniques can also be used to aid a better night’s sleep and to help a swimmer to rest and recover after training or during competition.

We have produced a related article, on dryland relaxation techniques. Which you can view by clicking this link: Dryland relaxation techniques

Get Enough Sleep

Most children require about 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night.

Competitive swimmers may need more to help them fully recover from the rigours of training and competition.
A lack of sleep can have a negative effect on a swimmer’s performance. It can impact on their physical ability, swimming technique (cognitive function) and reactions.
Therefore, it’s important that swimmers make quality sleep as much of a priority as they do for training and nutrition.

We have produced a related article, on the secrets of a good night’s sleep for swimmers. Which you can view by clicking this link: the secrets of a good night’s sleep for swimmers

We have produced a related article, on invisible swimming training techniques. Which you can view by clicking this link: Invisible Swimming Training

Focus on developing a great stroke technique

A great stroke technique is a fundamental key competitive swimming attribute to enable swimmers to propel themselves through the water efficiently,

Whilst at the same time reducing drag.
Some swimmers tend to lose their focus regarding their stroke technique,
For example, preferring to concentrate on land training to develop their strength,
Although strength is an important attribute and should be developed,
It should not be to the detriment of their stroke technique,
Top competitive swimmers regularly (often daily) work on (consistently and persistently) developing and maintaining their stroke technique, to help them swim faster.

Improve Your Flexibility

Swimming requires a wide range of motion in your joints and limbs to achieve optimum power and speed through the water.

Not only does increased flexibility improve your range of motion, but it also protects you against injury, and should be a key part of a competitive swimmer’s warm-up, cool down and land training programme.

Dryland Training

Many competitive swimmers regularly undertake dryland/land training.

This is to gain additional benefits beyond those which can be achieved by training in the water alone.
These include increased power, strength, endurance, speed, and coordination.
Dryland/land training can also help increase a swimmer’s range of movement and make them more flexible.
It can help correct muscle imbalance caused by poor stroke technique or overuse.
The combination of increased flexibility and balanced muscle groups can lower the risk of injury.

We have produced a related article on swimming dryland training. Which you can view by clicking this link: swimming dryland training

Improve your Kicking

Kicking is an important and sometimes undervalued key skill, which is an effective way to improve your competitive swimming.

An effective leg kick raises the swimmer’s legs up to a horizontal/prone position, thus reducing drag.
As leg muscles are amongst the largest in the body, having a trained, effective leg kick minimises energy and oxygen consumption, whilst maximising propulsion.

We have produced a related article, on improving your freestyle kicking technique. Which you can view by clicking this link: Freestyle kicking

Train with a Swimming Partner

To consistently perform well in training day after day can be tough and demanding.

Having a training partner to share the workload with, often makes training sessions more enjoyable.
Having someone swimming hard alongside you can help make you both improve your competitive swimming.

We have produced a related article on the benefits of having a swimming training partner. Which you can view by clicking this link: a swimming training partner.

Develop your Swimming Core

A swimmer’s core is the muscles in their abdomen, hips and lower back.

A developed swimming core ensures the swimmer’s body is supported, stabilised and balanced.
This enables the swimmer’s body position to be correctly aligned, helping them to reduce drag and perform many swimming drills and skills more effectively.

We have produced a related article, on developing your swimming core. Which you can view by clicking this link: developing your swimming core

Sculling

Sculling is often overlooked as a key competitive swimming skill and a great way to improve your competitive swimming.

Efficient sculling skills gives the swimmer ‘a feel for the water’, which helps them place their hands in the correct position to achieve maximum propulsion during the completion of the arm stroke.
Sculling is a great drill to introduce during a warm-up, cool-down or recovery swim.

We have produced a related article, a guide to swimming sculling. Which you can view by clicking this link: Swimming sculling

Train at the optimum intensity

It’s important during training swimmers to ensure that they are training at their optimum intensity, to help ensure they can compete at the desired level.

Therefore many swimmers monitor the heart rate and use a pace clock to help achieve this.

We have produced a related article on monitoring your swimming heart rate. Which you can view by clicking this link: Monitoring your swimming heart rate.

Related article on how to use a swimming pace clock

We have produced a related article on how to use a swimming pace clock. Which you can view by clicking this link: how to use a swimming pace clock.

Be consistent and persistent

Competitive swimming can be a grueling sport,

Requiring swimmers to undertake many hours of repetitive training and competition each week.
When I first started swimming coaching, one of the first books that I read was the excellent ‘Coaching Swimming Successfully’ by Dick Hannula.
In this book, he underlines the importance of a swimmer being determined and dedicated.
That they should always perform at their best and do it regularly,
Summing up this key competitive swimming attribute by his mantra,” Be consistent and persistent”.
It’s a mantra that I still coach my swimmer’s today

Underwater Dolphin Kicking

The underwater dolphin kick is a fast and powerful underwater technique.

It has become an increasingly important swimming skill, playing a key part in the development of butterfly, backstroke and freestyle starts and turns.
Many coaches refer to underwater dolphin kicking as the ‘fifth stroke’.
Many of the world’s top swimmers regularly practise and develop their underwater dolphin kicking technique during training.

We have produced a related article, on underwater dolphin kicking. Which you can view by clicking this link: underwater dolphin kicking

We have produced a related article, on 101 ways to improve your freestyle swimming. Which you can view by clicking this link: 101 ways to improve your freestyle swimming

Takeaways